Mbappé apology follows China broadcast suspension and sponsor backlash

Kylian Mbappé has apologised over comments about a meme resembling Mao Zedong after a backlash in China brought commercial consequences for the Real Madrid forward and disrupted coverage of Spanish football. According to reporting by BBC journalist Fan Wang, China Media Group suspended La Liga broadcasts, while Chinese brands cut ties with the player. Real Madrid and La Liga also issued apologies.

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The controversy spread on Monday night while Mbappé was attending the Ballon d'Or ceremony in London. Chinese football fans had found an interview clip in which he discussed a meme showing his face superimposed on a figure resembling Mao. Mbappé did not identify Mao by name, the BBC reported, but his description of the image drew objections from people who regarded it as disrespectful to the founder of the People's Republic of China.

The response extended beyond criticism on social media. Dairy company Mengniu, an official sponsor of the Fifa World Cup, ended its relationship with Mbappé. China Media Group, the parent of state broadcaster CCTV, halted its coverage of La Liga matches. On Tuesday, the player's Weibo account was also prevented from accepting new followers, adding a restriction on his Chinese social-media presence to the commercial fallout.

Mbappé subsequently expressed regret and described his comment as ill-judged. Beijing said it was taking his apology seriously, but the BBC reported that China Media Group had not said whether league broadcasts would restart. The apologies therefore had not been accompanied by a publicly announced return of that coverage at the time of the report.

The BBC also documented how restrictions on discussion of Mao complicated efforts to understand the dispute inside China. Users shared screenshots with parts of the image and wording obscured, while some asked what the footballer had actually said. Neither the Chinese foreign ministry's statement nor the apologies from Mbappé, Real Madrid and La Liga directly named Mao, according to the report.

Reactions were not uniform across online platforms. The BBC found continuing criticism on Weibo alongside messages defending Mbappé on X, which is inaccessible in China. For the player, his club and the league, the confirmed consequences included a lost commercial relationship and suspended broadcasts; the report offered no timetable for those broadcasts to resume.